


Revenge of the Padawan

by CassiCat, KatiaSwift



Series: The Darth Maleficent Series [1]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Gen, I wouldn't trust it if I were you, It came from the depths of my computer, Possibly bad and/or Sue-ish, Read at Your Own Risk, be afraid - very afraid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-09
Updated: 2013-09-09
Packaged: 2017-12-26 03:54:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/961274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassiCat/pseuds/CassiCat, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatiaSwift/pseuds/KatiaSwift
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a disastrous turn of events, Ahsoka Tano turns to the Dark Side. Can Anakin, Obi-Wan, and a mysterious woman from another world turn her back to the light? First book in the Darth Maleficent series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the best fics that my Imzadi and I ever wrote when I was twelve (and she was thirteen). Yes, twelve. I'm not sure whether it's actually as good as it was when I was twelve, but read at your own risk.
> 
> Let's put it this way: it's a lot better than the fics I wrote when I was ten.
> 
> (It was actually kind of awesome when I was twelve.)
> 
> And Darth Maleficent was named before I ever saw Sleeping Beauty. Seriously.

_Revenge of the Padawan_

_Late Summer, Jedi Temple, Coruscant_

Ahsoka Tano was going in a mission with Master Kenobi. General Grievous, as well as a mysterious Zabrak, had been sighted on Dathomir and her master had been taken, so Ahsoka and Master Kenobi were going to investigate. Little did the Padawan learner know that the Dark Side was upon her, upon them all. Ahsoka felt something behind her, and she turned to see Plo Koon running up behind her.

"Ta rual, Little Ahsoka?" She smiled.

"Ko-to wa tho, Master Plo. What are you doing?"

He smiled. "I brought this picture for you-" He was cut off as Obi-Wan Kenobi rushed towards Ahsoka.

"Padawan Tano, It's time to go!" He called; she sighed.

"All right, Master Obi-Wan." She waved at Plo Koon and ran for the Jedi Cruiser.

She followed Obi-Wan to the bridge of the cruiser.

"Master Obi-Wan, I heard that Dathomir is a place full of the Dark Side," Ahsoka said, a bit worriedly.

He smiled. "Nothing to worry about if you follow your teachings, young one."

Ahsoka smiled at Obi-Wan's faith in the Jedi ways as the ship went into hyperspace, leaving Coruscant far behind.

….

Ahsoka was clearly having second thoughts about this when they got to Dathomir. Her green eyes were wide as they stepped onto the soil of the dark planet. Obi-Wan looked surprised at the strength of the dark side.

"Stay close to me, young one." He commanded, voice surprisingly steady.

Ahsoka looked skeptical, "But, Master Obi-Wan, I thought you had faith in me. Why should I stay close?"

He looked grave, "The Dark Side is unusually strong here. Just stay close."

Ahsoka sighed noisily, but after a look from Rex, she was silent.

They started through the forest, Obi-Wan looking around as though expecting an attack. Ahsoka shuddered, feeling the Dark Side, but continued on, still unusually silent.

They continued on for a time, Ahsoka hesitantly obeying and staying near Master Obi-Wan. Suddenly, Obi-Wan's blue eyes widened, he tensed slightly.

"Stay here, with the troops." He muttered, running off in the other direction, his lightsaber blazing to life.

"Hey! I thought I was supposed to stay close to you!" She called after him, rolling her eyes.

Rex sighed, "Sometimes I just don't understand those Jedi," He muttered, "Hey, kid! Keep your chin up!"

Ahsoka gave him a grateful smile, "Thanks, Rex."

Suddenly, there came the sharp sound of someone- or something- firing. The tree to the left of Ahsoka was instantly destroyed.

She screamed. "AAAHHHH!"

Rex had already drawn his blasters and, with the rest of the unit, was firing into the large army of droids that had appeared in front of them.

"Eat laser, clankers!" He yelled, firing into the mass of droids.

Ahsoka had already Force-jumped over him and was slicing her way through the army. She wondered where Obi-Wan had run off to, leaving them to face the droids alone. But there was no time for that now, all that mattered was that she kept herself and her troops alive.

...

The Jedi Master, meanwhile, was facing a much more difficult adversary nearby: Asajj Ventress.

"My dear Obi-Wan," Ventress greeted almost sweetly. Not that Obi-Wan was fooled, he could see her hate for him in her eyes.

"Ventress." He responded dryly, by way of an unfriendly greeting.

"It's been far too long." She hissed, igniting her lightsabers.

Obi-Wan didn't respond, simply pulling out his own lightsaber, its blue blade swishing through the air.

"Do you wish to surrender honorably?" He asked her, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

Ventress hissed, leaping at him.

"I guess that means no," He muttered, clashing his lightsaber against hers. Their movements were almost like a dance; one between light and darkness.

Ventress saw his pre-occupation about Ahsoka. "Thinking about Skywalker's nasty little pet?" she sneered, "Well, you're too late. The droid armies are after her as I speak. Take that, Kenobi!"

As she spoke, Obi-Wan, distracted by her words, didn't realize her plan until it was too late. Ventress brought one of her lightsabers down on Obi-Wan's knee. He managed to jump, saving him from losing his leg, but she still got him badly. Obi-Wan howled, landing on the forest floor in pain, still managing to block her next attack.

"I've got you now, Kenobi," She whispered.

He was losing ground fast now, barely able to keep up with her slashes. Obi-Wan backed up against a tree, realizing too late that he was trapped. He would have dove to the side, except for the red blades of energy that trapped him on both sides. Obi-Wan looked up at the cold eyes of his attacker and a shiver ran down his spine. He closed his eyes, waiting for her to finish it, to kill him, but it never came.

"You'll be a good prisoner for my Master," she whispered, causing him to shiver again. "Maybe then he'll have faith that I can do well."

Obi-Wan was vaguely aware of her doing something with the Force. He heard something whiz through the air and felt it make contact with his head. After that, the world went completely black.

...

Ahsoka Tano was fighting for her life, slicing through droids by the dozen, but it was still too much.

"Fall back! There are too many of them!" She called to her troops. Rex motioned for them to retreat, but there was the sound of lightsabers humming behind them. Ahsoka whirled, and there was General Grievous, the head clanker himself.

"Ah, Jedi!" he said, splitting his arms into four and taking out all the lightsabers. Ahsoka drew hers, and as she Force-jumped by, she hissed an order to Rex.

"Escape from the droids! I don't care how!" Rex saluted.

"Yes, sir."

"Go after them," Grievous growled at one of his droids, "Do not let them escape."

"Roger, roger," the droid responded, leading his forces after the clones.

Ahsoka leaped towards Grievous, snarling with her famous Togruta temper.

"What did you do with my Master, you bucket of rusty bolts?" she hissed at the cyborg, clashing her lightsabers with his.

"I have taken him to Darth Maleficent, there is no hope for his escape, _youngling_. Mwahahaha!"

Ahsoka shrieked in rage, her lightsaber rushing to meet Grievous's. Suddenly, Grievous succeded in his plan. Her lightsaber flew into the air with a twist of his blade, landing with a hollow 'thud' on a tree trunk. She growled, just getting angrier, and fought harder with the one remaining one, the tiny Shoto. It didn't work. The other one sailed away as well, landing conveniently in Grievous's outstretched hand. He smiled evilly. Ahsoka turned, intending to get the other lightsaber, when a metal hand tightened around her neck.

"You won't be escaping that easily." He sneered. Ahsoka gasped, trying to breathe. Without warning, he flung her against a tree with incredible force.

"Well played,  _youngling_." he said. "Droids! Take her away!"

...

When Obi-Wan came to, he was in a large room filled with vents and pipes. He immediately got a very bad feeling about this. And it wasn't helped by the fact Ventress and Grievous were both standing by a kind of care-taker droid, or the fact that Ahsoka was held beside him, hanging suspended from an energy field, unconscious. She stirred, and Obi-Wan felt hope rising within him.

"M-Master Obi-Wan?" She murmured sleepily, not fully remembering her ordeal.

"I'm here, little one." He reassured her softly. "We're in a bit of a sticky situation here, but stay calm. Panicking will not help us here." She nodded, as far as she could move her head, and winced.

"OW!"

Obi-Wan winced, as well, "What's wrong, Ahsoka?" she sighed.

"Just a scrape."

He nodded.

At that moment, Ventress walked over, "Now, I realize you're probably trying to think of a way to escape."

Obi-Wan just stared at her, then looked at Ahsoka, who had paled when she jerked her head to look at Ventress.

"Well, if it isn't the hairless harpy herself," Ahsoka said.

Obi-Wan sighed softly, if she was insulting Ventress, she couldn't be  _too_  badly hurt.

It was then the droid decided to say, "Ready for freezing." In a voice that was very unlike that of a battle droid.

"Freezing?" Obi-Wan repeated, his bad feeling getting stronger with every passing second.

"Carbon freezing, my dear Master Kenobi," Ventress corrected, "A bit of a...safety precaution in case you try to escape."

Obi-Wan decided he really didn't like where this was headed. Ventress motioned her hand and several droids- more than he could take without his lightsaber, which was inconvenintiently missing- moved forward, blasters trained on him.

He fell to the ground, hard. The pain in his knee roared to life.

"Blast!" He cursed.

If Ventress heard him, she made no reply, instead saying, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Obi-Wan, already hurt and in no want of another injury, straightened and followed her gaze to the carbonite chamber. He had only seen one once before, and had never wanted to examine one any further. Not that he had that choice. Obi-Wan squirmed and struggled as the droids picked him up, managing to knock one of the droids to the ground. Ventress was instantly holding a lightsaber to Ahsoka's throat.

"Hold still, Kenobi, or the obnoxious youngling dies," She hissed.

Obi-Wan went rigid, fear burning in his eyes, "All right." He whispered, defeated.

Ahsoka struggled to move back, a desperate look on her face. Obi-Wan had no choice. He put his hands up.

"I surrender, Ventress."

The droids took hold of him again; this time he let them force him into the chamber. He felt his heart rate increase rapidly, a sick feeling in his stomach. But he couldn't fight, not if it meant Ahsoka would be killed. He closed his eyes and thought of the only thing that made him happy...Satine.

"Master Kenobi!" Ahsoka's voice rang out as the droid pushed the button that froze Obi-Wan. He could feel the coldness rushing into the pit, sudden coldness that bit his skin.

His last thought was, _"Satine..."_  And then nothing more.

Ahsoka screamed. "NO!" She leaped from the energy ray that the droids had just let her out of in preparation for her freezing. The Padawan landed hard, wincing, but she didn't let it stop her as she kicked droids out of her way.

"Die, clankers!" she spat.

Ventress, as though expecting this, had knelt by the block of carbonite, "You see this button, here, youngling? It will instantly kill Master Kenobi." The Sith smiled, "I wouldn't keep fighting, if you value his life, that is."

Ahsoka stared at her, thinking that was rather unfair. The witch had already used her against Master Obi-Wan, and now she was using Master Obi-Wan against her. Not that Sith followed the rules.

"Fine," Ahsoka snapped. "Have it your way,  _Separatist_."

Ventress sneered, "Good. Droid, prep the freezing chamber. We finally have Skywalker's annoying little pet. Put her in!" as the droids marched forward, Ahsoka hung her head in shame.

"So much for 'Snips,'" she muttered sadly. "Master, I failed. I am sorry."

Ventress, personally overseeing the process after Ahsoka's little outburst, ignited her lightsabers, waving them WAY too close to the Padawan for her comfort. Ahsoka let herself be shoved into the freezing pit, feeling like she had let her mission down.

"Oh, Master," she whispered as the cold air hissed into the pit, "Forgive me." Everything went black as the cold engulfed Ahsoka, encasing her in carbonite.


	2. Chapter 2

Ventress, in the end, decided- just in case- to split up the Jedi. Ahsoka would got the quicker route, while Obi-Wan the more dangerous. It was all the same to her if he was killed. The original plan was to have Ventress go the easy way and Grievous go the long way. Until, that is, Grievous was called away.

Not quite willing to risk her life in the swamps, Ventress decided to travel with the youngling. She sent several droids with Obi-Wan, figuring they would protect the carbonite-encased Knight. If she had been smart, she would have realized if she was needed anywhere, it would be in the swamps. But she didn't like the swamps, so she went on the road. This was her first mistake.

...

A small, lithe figure watched the whole exchange, curious. Her glowing blue eyes peeped out from under her hood, which concealed her from the droids. When she saw them split up, she stood; ran off quickly toward her mother's house. She reached a small clearing in the marshes, one of the few dry places to be found.

"Mother!" She yelped.

Her elder sister emerged from her own small house next to their mother's, "Sadira, shh! Mother is trying to sleep."

"Sorry." Sadira hung her head, knowing how her mother didn't get much rest.

"Nevermind." Her sister smiled slightly, "What's wrong?"

"The droids are back. There's someone in carbonite-"

"Carbonite?" Her sister sounded enraged, "Where?"

"The only path that runs through the swamps. Droids aren't brave enough to venture off the path."

"Good, stay here."

"No! I want to come see you beat up the droids, Adeline!" Sadira pouted.

"Shh! Okay, okay, just be quiet!" Adeline hissed.

"Yea!" The younger girl cheered as Adeline led the way through the marsh.

Adeline had not bothered with a cloak to conceal her identity, she planned to destroy all the droids, so for all she cared, they could see the face of their killer. Her light green hair flowed behind her, her hazel eyes searching the surroundings.

Soon enough, they found their way to the road. Adeline's eyes were full of rage, and Sadira knew now would be a bad time to annoy her sister, so she kept quiet.

"Sadira, I want you to go hide in the tree over there, okay? Don't do anything... risky."

"You're doing something risky."

"I'm older!" Adeline snapped.

"But-"

Adeline stopped her, "I let you tag along already, and now you're asking to risk your life? You're pressing your luck, bub. Up in the tree, now!"

"Fine." Sadira grumbled.

Rolling her eyes, Adeline gathered the Force to her, ready to battle them. She ran up to them, and one spun around.

"What the-" It started, in its' weird droid voice, but it would never finish. She had Force-pushed it into a rock.

Her fingers closed around her dagger; she took out five that way while force pushing the others into rocks or even each other. When she was finished, she straightened, satisfied with her work. Sadira jumped down from the tree, using the force to cushion her fall.

"That was fun!"

Adeline looked at her sister and shook her head before kneeling by the carbonite slab.

"Wow..." she whispered. "He's handsome..."

Sadira giggled. "Addie's in lo-ove, Addie's in lo-ove, Addie's in-" Adeline whipped around, and Sadira was uncommonly silent.

"Sadira," she growled, "Don't... make... me... hurt... you." Sadira giggled again.

"We have to get him out of here, whoever he is," Adeline murmured.

The older of the sisters began to look at the controls on the side while Sadira hummed something that sounded suspiciously like "Addie's in lo-ove,". She finally found the right button and pushed it.

The carbonite melted and a man no older than thirty-five fell to the ground, coughing. He had brown-red hair; blue eyes. He also looked exhausted, his breathing was harsh.

Her heart skipped a little, though she would never admit it. She moved over to him, concerned.

"Are you all right?" She asked softly.

His head flashed toward her, "What- where..."

"A yes or no would do." Adeline sighed, it figured the one man she thought looked cute couldn't talk.

"I honestly don't know." He finally said.

She shuffled a little, accidentally bumping his knee. "OW!" He yelped.

"Sorry," She said, only then seeing the nasty looking wound on his knee, "That doesn't look good." She whispered.

He didn't speak, telling her the cut hurt quite a bit or he was trying to figure out what she meant.

She bent over him, "Can you see anything?"

"No, it's all a blur." He sounded relatively calm about this, considering he was practically blind.

"Can you tell me what happened?" She asked, trying to spark his memory. If he could remember, she would know the carbonite had no lasting affects.

"I... I was in the carbonite chamber." He whispered, "There were too many droids and I couldn't fight or..."

"Or what?" she asked, begging the Force that he answer.

"Ahsoka!" He suddenly called, trying to sit up.

"No!" She stopped him, "Finish."

"They would kill the little one I was with."

At least the sentence made sense, "Listen to me, um..."

"Obi-Wan," He offered. "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Okay, listen, Obi-Wan, I'm going to give you something, and it doesn't taste too great, but you need to drink it."

"Why?"

"It will give you strength." She murmured, pressing a small glass vile into his hands, "Drink."

He obeyed, to Adeline's delight.

"You weren't kidding." He spat when he finished it.

She rolled her eyes, "We need to get off the road."

"Road?" Obi-Wan seemed to be quite sure this was no such thing, and maybe it wasn't by his standards.

"Just follow me." She instructed, pressing her hand into his and helping him stand.

Sadira had continued humming until that point, "Addie, where are we going?"

Obi-Wan jumped, startled by the second voice, "Who's that?"

Adeline sighed, "My little sister, Sadira,  _who's_   _going to run ahead and get the guest room ready._ Isn't that right,  _Sadira_?"

"Sure, whatever." The younger girl ran off through the marsh.

"Still can't see?" Adeline asked Obi-Wan.

"No, nothing, just a kind of glow."

She felt through the Force, searching for any drugs this man's captors could've used.

"A Force suppressant?" She said, incredulous.

"Is that why I can't feel anything?" He inquired.

"I believe so." She answered gently.

She had only once been given a Force suppressant and it had been a trail of her people. To be given one along with being frozen in carbonite with an open wound no less was cruel.

"Stay close to me, or you'll find yourself in quicksand." She ordered.

His grip on her hand tightened, "Right." He whispered.

She led him through the marsh to the small clearing and into her house that- since her mother had gotten ill- she shared with her insufferable sister. Even then, she was singing as she got the guest bed ready.

"Addie's in lo-ove, Addie's in lo-ove."

"Shut up." Adeline hissed.

Sadira just giggled; Obi-Wan asked, "Where are we?"

"Somewhere safe," Adeline answered vaguely, "You should rest."

"But Ahsoka-"

"Rest, Obi-Wan. You'll do no good to anyone crippled."

Reluctantly, he let her show him the room. He was asleep before his head touched the pillow. She exhaled softly, stood and left the room closing the door behind her.

 _"Where am I?"_  Obi-Wan wondered when he woke, sight returned, " _What happened?"_

A young woman- about his age, maybe a little younger- swept into the room. Accept she wasn't a woman. She looked like an angel.

"Good, you're awake." She murmured, "How do you feel?"

"Hurt." He said truthfully.

She smiled slightly, "Well considering the wound on your knee, I'm not surprised."

"Ventress," He growled, memory returning.

He didn't know if she heard that, she didn't show it if she did, "Do you feel as though you can eat something?"

"I... I think so."

"I'll be back then." She said, opening the door.

A younger angel looked up and started singing, "Addie's in lo-ove, Addie's in lo-ove!"

The elder hit her with a frying pan, "How many times do I have to tell you to  _shut up_?"

The younger giggled, eyes sparkling. A moment later the older returned, carrying a tray of food.

"I don't want to impose-" The glare she gave him told him to shut up, so he did.

"Listen to me, Obi-Wan," She snapped haughtily, "While you are here, you are under my protection and you will eat. Am I understood?"

Obi-Wan blinked, taken aback, "Um... Yes, Miss..."

"Adeline, just Adeline." She said with a slight grin.

"Thank you, Adeline." he said respectfully.

"You're quite welcome, Obi-Wan." She handed him the tray and walked out, closing the door behind her. He could still hear the sounds of Adeline's little sister singing to herself as the footsteps receded down a hallway.

 _"She's pretty,"_ Obi-Wan couldn't help thinking as he picked up the tray and began to eat.

Adeline was a Force-sensitive Nubian Angel, part of a rare species that resided on one of Naboo's moons. She was 25, and pretty much took care of ten-year-old Sadira on her own. Her mother had been ill since Sadira was two, and the young Angel had taken care of her little sister ever since.

Adeline, who was making salad in the kitchen while Sadira ate dinner, knew that Obi-Wan had been captured by whoever his enemy was, then put in Carbonite. She also knew that he had left behind this mysterious Ahsoka, whoever she was. Adeline, for what Sadira called 'some knocked-up reason', wanted to help the mysterious Jedi. She knew it would be dangerous, and that they were losing precious time by letting him recover from his carbon freezing and the Force suppressants his enemy had given him, but it couldn't be helped. He needed to recover if their mission would work. She let out a sigh as Sadira brought her plate into the kitchen. Tomorrow, she would set off.

The next morning, Adeline, happily whistling her favorite tune, brought a tray into Obi-Wan's room.

"Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

Obi-Wan smiled at her.

"Feeling better?" She questioned, pulling a box out from under the bed. "Well, here are some bacta patches for your knee. We have to fix it up before we go, don't we?"

Obi-Wan looked confused. "What?"

Adeline cheerfully repeated herself. "We're going to find Ahsoka. Isn't that what you need to do?"

Obi-Wan looked shocked. "Adeline,  _I_  need to find her, not you! You have only helped me out. I will not put you in harm's way."

Adeline's eyes flashed. "Oh, really? Well, you may not say that I can go with you, but unlike  _you_ , I can say where I go, and when I go there. Just try and stop me!"

Obi-Wan sighed. "All right, you win. Get ready to go, but be careful! Separatists are not people to be messed with lightly."

Adeline got a sneaky smile on her face, sort of a 'We're-in-this-together-and-it-might-be-dangerous- but-I-don't-care' look.

"All right. I'll prep the ship. Don't overexert yourself." She left the room with a smile on her face to go talk to Sadira.

"WHAT! You're going with _him_?" Sadira yelled.

Adeline glared. "Not so loud! Yes, I am going with him. Remember what I taught you about staying home alone. If there are battle droids, kill them all. Take this. I won't need it where I'm going." She handed Sadira the metallic green dagger with the elaborately carved handle.

Sadira stared in awe. "You don't need it?"

Adeline smiled. "I'm taking along a much more dangerous weapon, one I've never shown you, Sadira. This will do for battle droid bashing."

Sadira looked suspicious. "What weapon are you bringing, Addie?"

The older Angel smiled, pulling a locked wooden box out from under the kitchen sink. She fiddled with the key that hung around her neck and unlocked the box, bringing out an elaborately built metal cylinder.

Sadira gasped. "A lightsaber!"

Adeline smiled, igniting it and twirling its purple blade in a few spiraling circles, the humming filling the kitchen. Sadira ran at her sister unexpectedly, grabbing the older Angel around her middle.

"Be careful, Addie!" She whispered.

Her sister smiled. "I will. Don't worry about me." She met Obi-Wan in the hallway, and the two headed out to the small cargo ship that had been Adeline's for years. Sadira waved as Adeline took off, using the piloting skills that she had learned so long ago to skillfully take the ship out of the forest clearing into the sky, leaving her little house on Dathomir behind.


	3. Chapter 3

At Adeline's insistence, Obi-Wan rested for a while, though she had the suspicion it was only because he had seen her lightsaber, and still didn't have his. However, he soon returned to the cockpit, eyes full of questions.

"Where are we going?" He demanded.

She looked up at him, wondering if she really should tell him, considering he was still recovering, then murmured, "A planet in Wild Space called Zigoola."

His eyes went wide; he gripped the back of the co-pilot chair, "You're kidding, right?"

Adeline stood, "Why in the world would I do that?"

"Zigoola," He repeated, eyes getting hazy.

"Calm down. I knew I shouldn't have told you." She sighed.

He just watched eyes wide, as she walked off through the ship.

"B-but...we can't go there!" He exclaimed, running after her.

"Why not? Your captors are obviously there, and I'll bet that your friend Ahsoka is too. Why not go find them, instead of sitting around in hyperspace like cowards?" Obi-Wan instantly knew that he had angered her, and regretted saying anything at all.

"I asked you a QUESTION!" she shouted.

Obi-Wan flinched. "Go to Zigoola," He muttered.

"LOUDER!" She shouted. Adeline was really not making things easy for him.

"All right, all right!" He said, raising his voice. "Go to Zigoola! We have to rescue Ahsoka!"

Adeline smiled coyly. "That's better." She said, turning around to put the ship into hyperspace.

Obi-Wan, despite what he had said, was not really feeling any better going to the Sith planet. There was a sick feeling in his stomach as he remembered his previous venture there. He was more fit this time, he supposed since he had gone shortly after being blown up last time, and this time there was no temple, no hololocron to invade his mind. But the thought of going to the place that nearly became his grave was... unsettling to say the least.

But he had a feeling that he should keep these doubts to himself. The last thing he needed was Adeline getting angry again. All the same, he wondered what affect seeing the planet would have on him.

"What have I gotten myself into?" He thought, fear rising in his chest.

She turned. "Apparently, you're saving your friend. However, does it LOOK like we're having a picnic here? NO!"

"Blast! I wish she wasn't Force-sensitive!" He thought, running into the cockpit after her.

"I heard that, Master Kenobi!" she trilled.

"Blast again! Perhaps I can make peace with her..." He thought, making sure his mental shields were up this time. He sat down in the co-pilot's chair and tried to make conversation with her, hoping to distract her from his unwillingness to go to Zigoola.

"So...where did you grow up?" He asked her.

Adeline glared icily. "Naboo." She said simply, ignoring him as best she could.

He tried again. "Where on Naboo?"

She turned the chair in a full circle. "Nubia, the biggest moon." Adeline glared, giving him a look that said, 'My personal life is NOT your business, so bug off."

He sighed. Making conversation was a lot harder than it looked. There should be classes at the Temple on how to make conversation with a snippy Angel... he would make sure to mention it to Master Yoda when he got back... if he got back.

Adeline stood and disappeared into the back of the ship. Obi-Wan waited a while- just to be safe- before following. She was holding a blazing purple lightsaber and lashing at the air. He shrunk back a little at the power she was putting into each stroke. He watched in silence for a moment before jumping down beside her.

"You know," He said carefully, "In a real duel if you were so offensive and put that much power in every strike, the duel wouldn't exactly be going well for you."

She glared, but didn't speak, so he continued, "Especially where we're going."

Adeline snapped. "And who told YOU that I am not capable of taking care of myself? I have been holding out on you. There is plenty that I can do that you cannot. I would advise that you DO shut up. Good day!"

Obi-Wan flinched as she stormed past, anger flowing off her. He sat down, not even bothering to go after her.

"What's the use?" He muttered. "I'll wait a little while and then go back. She's... quite something."

He waited a little while, like he had said, before going back to the cockpit.

"Adeline?" he asked cautiously.

She was sitting in the pilot's seat, her beautiful gown and elaborate headdress folded to her knees as she huddled there. When her head turned, Obi-Wan could see the tears glistening in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," He said.

She smiled sadly. "It's not your fault. I was rude."

He smiled at her. "How about a truce?" he asked.

She laughed. "All right."

The Jedi Master and the young Nubian Angel shook on it just as a flashing light and an alarm signified that they were coming up on Zigoola. Obi-Wan flinched visibly, and Adeline put her arm around him.

"It's okay," She whispered. "I'll help you."

He nodded, "It's just... I had some pretty bad experiences there, and I don't want them repeating themselves."

Adeline nodded gravely, "We'll do the best we can to rescue this...Ahsoka, and then get out of there."

Obi-Wan sighed. "Oh, dear. I haven't told you anything about Ahsoka, or the other Jedi who we have to rescue. You see, Ahsoka is a Padawan Learner, and she came on the mission to capture General Grievous- he's the cyborg- and save her Master, Anakin Skywalker."

Adeline nodded, "We'd better find them fast. I have a bad feeling about this. It's bigger than we think..."

Obi-Wan looked frightened. "It is?"

Adeline looked at him. He saw the answer in her eyes. "You're more powerful than I thought," He said in wonder.

She laughed, forgetting the tension of the moment. "We Nubian Angels have always been more powerful than most. All except the Enchantresses, that is."

Obi-Wan was curious. "Enchantresses?"

Adeline nodded. "Extinct, very powerful species. Don't ask."

Obi-Wan didn't. Instead, he just watched as Adeline pulled the lever, bringing them out of hyperspace. He couldn't help shuddering at the sight of Zigoola, the planet that had brought him so much grief. What were they going to do with Ahsoka? What had they planned to use him for? Adeline was right. This whole thing was a lot bigger than the both of them. It had all been a trap. Anakin's kidnapping, the lure to Dathomir, Ventress's duel with him; Grievous's capture of Ahsoka. He started feel sick, and Adeline glanced over at him.

"Refresher's in the back if you need it. Go!" Obi-Wan didn't need to be told twice. He ran for the refresher, leaving Adeline to take the ship down.

When he returned, they were gliding in calmly, the opposite of his first visit, when the 'landing' was an out-of-control crash. Adeline looked up, worry in her hazel eyes.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I- I think so." He answered, forcing himself to be calm.

She smiled slightly, "It's going to be fine, Obi-Wan."

And it would have, had at that moment, the engines not stopped working right. He gripped the seat in front of him, wondering faintly why this always happened to him.

"You were saying?" Obi-Wan shouted.

"Well," She shrugged, "I was right until that happened. Just get down before we crash!"

Obi-Wan obeyed, seeking some protection. At last second, he felt Adeline reach for the Force and pull them up slightly. It wasn't much, but it cushioned the impact... a little.

They both jerked forward when they hit the soil. Obi-Wan sat up a moment later, dazed slightly. Adeline was laughing quietly.

"What's so funny?" He inquired, standing.

"I have no idea." She smiled, taking his hand when he offered it.

At that moment, the engines exploded. Adeline turned away from it just in time, but the blast still sent them both out the broken viewport.

"Engines just aren't working for us today." Obi-Wan commented from where he had landed on the rough, dead or dying grass.

"Not really," Adeline agreed, sighing.

"Are you okay?" He finally asked, after they lay there for a few moments.

"I think so. What about you?" She asked, standing up.

Obi-Wan shrugged, also getting to his feet, "I've been through much worse. My knee hurts a bit, but it should be okay if I go easy on it."

Adeline sighed. "Well, you do know that going easy is not really an option if we are going to succeed here."

Obi-Wan tested his knee gingerly. "I'll be all right, at least for now."

Adeline looked around at their surroundings. A minute later, she muttered, "Delightful place, isn't it?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Best place in the galaxy," He agreed sarcastically. Uncharacteristically, Adeline shrank to a one-legged crouch, putting her hands on her knees and closing her eyes. Obi-Wan watched her for a moment before she sprung up from her crouch.

"We need to go this way!" She said, pointing into the darkest part of the forest..

"Oh, joy," Obi-Wan muttered, following her as she ran off. "Wait! Adeline! Come back! You don't know what you're getting yourself into!"

She turned. "Oh yes I do!" the Angel called behind her. "Catch me if you can!"

Obi-Wan, having no other choice, ran faster. "You do know that we're going right into a trap, don't you?" He asked her.

She smiled. "Of course I do! I know what I'm doing!"

Obi-Wan sighed. "You've never done any of this before, Adeline! How do you know this will work out?"

She laughed. "I don't know that this will end well at all, Obi-Wan! I'm just going to do my best and trust in the Force, and you should do the same!"

Knowing this was not an argument he could win, Obi-Wan nodded, "If you say so!" And continued running beside her.

The forests of Zigoola sprung up around them, the dark, twisted trees he had seen once before, and had never wanted to see again. Adeline kept running, Obi-Wan started to fall behind, as she was quicker than him. A sharp thorn, which had been fastened onto a plant growing off a tree found its way over the wound on his knee. He yelped and fell to the ground, trying to ward off the pain.

Adeline stopped; ran back over, "Obi-Wan?"

"Blast," He was muttering, "Stupid thorn."

Adeline examined the plant; then declared, "Poisonous, I'd say."

"Well, that's just great." He groaned sarcastically.

"Calm down." She said gently, "I should be able to fix it."

"Adeline, that will weaken you." Obi-Wan said quickly.

She looked at him skeptically, "Look, Kenobi, I did not come this far to have you die on me now!"

He flinched back, "All I meant was you would need all the strength you can get, especially since I'm hurt."

She rolled her eyes, "Then we'll camp here tonight and continue in the morning."

"You said so yourself: it would be best to get off this rock as soon as possible." Obi-Wan pointed out.

"Well, we don't have a ship anymore, and if we're going to steal one, I'll need some help. So, calm down, stop arguing and let me help you!"

Obi-Wan sighed. "All right. Are you sure you'll have enough energy to go on?"

She glared. "I'll be fine! Here, let me help you." She reached into her flowing robe, into a pocket Obi-Wan had never seen before, and pulled out a bacta patch and a vial of syrupy liquid.

"Hold still, Obi-Wan," She commanded, emptying the contents of the vial on his knee.

He winced. "OW! Blast, Adeline, that hurts!"

She sighed. "It's supposed to. The one drawback is that it makes you sleepy, so we're going to have to wait about half an hour until the side effects wear off. Look on the bright side, at least you aren't going to die."

Obi-Wan sighed and let her lower him onto the ground. "All right. It won't take too long to wear off?"

She nodded. "No, it'll only take a little while. You'll feel better when you wake up, and the stuff will have done wonders to your knee."

He yawned, and fell asleep, his last sight being her pretty face looking worriedly down on him. _"Adeline's cute when she's worried,"_ He thought.

She watched his eyes close. _"Why does he have to be so complicated?"_ She wondered. _"Forgetting to put his mental shields up when he thinks something like that... pretty stupid! Shit. I like him anyway._


	4. Chapter 4

Sadira was running through the forests of Dathomir, glad to have her sister occupied with the Jedi so she could fight the droids without a major argument. The dagger her sister had given her was excellent. Those droids never knew what hit them. She heard the laser shots of a battle, and- curious as she was- walked over to see what the idiot droids were shooting at this time.

"If it's another lizard, I am going to carve 'stupid droid' into the leader." The girl murmured to herself.

Surprisingly, it was neither a lizard, nor any other animal like those she had to rescue earlier, but instead a squad of clones. Eager to help, she leaped out and took down several droids. The commander among the clankers started to panic,

"Native!" He yelled at first; then changed his mind several times, "Jedi! Angel! Jedi! Native!" Until he was so confused that her dagger took off his head without a fight.

"Idiot." She muttered, turning like a spinning top, her dagger taking down droid after droid after droid. When they were all gone, she sat down on the nearest rock, heaving a sigh of relief.

The clone wearing blue armor pulled off his helmet and looked at her in disbelief. "B-but...you're only a kid," He stuttered.

She bristled. "I am not just some kid! I just killed all your stupid droids and you're calling me a kid?" She stormed off and sat down on a fallen log. The clones could hear strangled sniffling sounds coming from where she was sitting, and Rex realized that she was crying. He walked over.

"Hey, kid, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," He said.

She looked up. "That's okay. You didn't know."

"Where are your parents?" He asked her.

She sniffed again. "Mother's been sick ever since I was two, and Adeline just left for some planet with her boyfriend."

"Who's Adeline?" Rex asked the little Angel.

Sadira sighed. "She's my big sister. She met this guy yesterday, and said that she was going on a mission with him. He was frozen in carbonite when she found him."

"Carbonite?" Rex asked. He was starting to put two and two together, and asked, "Do you know his name?"

Sadira smiled. "Yeah. He was a Jedi, like my sister always wanted to be. His name was Obi-Wan Kenobi."

Rex flinched. "General Kenobi?" He asked, wearing a disbelieving look on his face. Sadira nodded proudly.

"That's him. My sister took out the droids and freed him from carbonite. This morning she seemed to have decided she was going with him to rescue someone called Ahsoka. Obi-Wan wasn't happy at first, but he gave in. Plus, she had a lightsaber, and he didn't."

Rex frowned, "General Kenobi went looking for Ahsoka with a girl he just met? That's hard to believe."

"Not that Addie gave him much choice." Sadira smiled, "She got the frying pan and that's when he agreed. What's more, it was Addie's ship they took."

"And you have no idea where they went?"

"Nope," Sadira grinned, "I heard something about Wild Space, but that doesn't narrow it down to any short looking time. Addie will be back though."

"How do you know, little one?"

"The Force said so!" Sadira grinned, then at the sound of blaster fire, jumped up, "If it's a lizard-"

Rex looked rather confused, but followed her anyway.

One of his men, Echo, came over, "How do we know if she's telling the truth, sir?"

"We don't." Rex sighed.

"But her knowing General Kenobi's name-"

"That proves she's seen him; talked to him. If the General left, he had good reason. All we can do is fight the droids here and hope for the best."

"I suppose." Echo agreed.

Sadira pulled out her dagger. "Those stupid droids are probably firing at a tree trunk! I'm going to get them!" She tugged on a button and her cloak fell, leaving her in a more practical play suit. "Die, dumbo rust-buckets!" She yelled, running into the mass of droids.

In about five minutes, she had reduced all the droids to scrap metal. Sadira turned to look at the clones. "Well, aren't you going to help me haul this home?"

Rex looked confused. "What do you use it for?" He questioned.

Sadira sighed. "Addie melts it down to use for other things, and we patch our roof with it, and we use it to fix the speeder bike, and-"

Rex cut her off. "All right, we get your point! Men, help her take the droids home."

Another one of Rex's men, Fives, asked anxiously, "Sir, I don't mean to speak out of line, but what if she puts the droids back together and turns them against us?"

Rex sighed. "She won't! Just haul droids, will you?"

The men obeyed and started picking of the droids. Sadira lead them to the swamp and Echo stopped.

"Hold on just a minute. You want us to go in there?"

"Yeah," Sadira said, "Come on, don't be cowards!"

"We're not being cowards." Echo defended himself, "I just personally want to get off this planet in one piece."

"Oh, come on. Addie and I do it every day. Nothing bad will happen."

Echo didn't seem so sure of this, but followed her anyway. She stuck to the path at first, but veered off it quickly, leaving the clones to stare after her.

"Come on!" She called through the trees.

They all hesitated so she added, "Master Kenobi could do it blind and without the Force with only Addie to guide him. Come on you, cowards!"

The clones had no choice but to follow her as she took them deeper into the forest towards the house she shared with her sister.


	5. Chapter 5

Obi-Wan Kenobi awoke to the smell of something wonderful. Adeline was leaning over a box of rations with a canteen of hot water and a packet of something. Obi-Wan was a little bit dizzy, but he still managed to find his way over to Adeline.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

She turned. "Obi-Wan! I'm trying for a good batch of instant Rishi Eel Soup, but there's not much hope of that, is there?"

He laughed. "No, instant soup is pretty much hopeless. There's not much you can do about that!"

Adeline smiled. "We shall see, Master Kenobi."

After five minutes of working, along with a bit of Force-tweaking, she handed him a cup of soup.

"That's the best I can do," She said. "Drink up! You'll need your strength for what's coming next."

He looked at her and smiled, "All right, Adeline."

She grinned triumphantly and got a cup of soup for herself.

"So," Obi-Wan smiled, "Where are we actually going, do you know?"

"The ruined Sith temple, I think." She said.

He groaned softly, "It's bad enough we're on this planet, do we have to go to the place where I practically died?"

Adeline laid a hand on his shoulder, "You'll be fine."

He looked up from the soup, "I can't promise that."

She rolled her eyes, "Drink the soup, Obi-Wan. Worry about the temple later."

He nodded, taking a sip, "That's good!"

She sighed, "Do you have to sound so surprised?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan teased, "How long was I asleep?"

"An hour or so." Adeline answered gently, "You were really out too, I tried to wake you once or twice, then gave up and decided it was better to let you sleep."

"Thank you, I suppose." Obi-Wan smiled, but he felt something was wrong, elsewhere.

" _Anakin?_ " He couldn't help wondering, " _Or maybe Ahsoka_."

Adeline saw the change in expression, making her worry, "Obi-Wan?"

"I'm fine." He said quickly.

" _She's REALLY cute when she's worried._ " He couldn't help thinking.

"Well...If you're sure," She said, obviously not convinced. "On to the temple!"

Obi-Wan groaned, "You're too adventurous, did you know that?"

Adeline grinned. "Of course I know. C'mon!"

She took off running, leaving Obi-Wan to follow her, still feeling that something was wrong.

...

Ahsoka Tano strained against her bonds, only increasing the excruciating pain she was in. She could only see blurs, but whatever had happened to her had not been fun. From what she could feel, she was obviously upside down, and it wasn't helping her injuries any.

She tried to remember something-anything- about what happened. Finally, she remembered fighting Grevious and getting knocked out. Then she had awoken in a room and Master Kenobi had been there. She then recalled the carbonite, how he had been encased in it. It was all her fault. She had been encased in carbonite too, she remembered, but past that... nothing.

She looked around, Master Kenobi wasn't there; she couldn't feel him in the Force. She wondered where he could be now. Was he safe, or still in carbonite?

She stopped struggling against the bonds, they were too tight, too well made, "Blast, why am I always the one that gets stuck with the real bonds when Master Skywalker and Kenobi always break free?" She wondered aloud.

She felt herself get tired very suddenly. She closed her eyes and was immediately asleep.

...

Anakin Skywalker was feeling rather rotten. He had been stupid enough to approach a Sith, without backup or even anyone knowing there was one. The Sith, insolent bragger he was, told him the whole plan. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka would come looking for him, he would separate them; capture them. Anakin had been stupid enough to hope that they would escape. But no, they were to be encased in carbonite. He was still hanging on the wall of the Sith's throne room like some kind of trophy. He was startled out of his thoughts by voices in the hall.

"What do you mean he escaped, that's not possible!" The unmistakable voice of Darth Maleficent boomed.

"Sir, the droids are long overdue." Another voice answered, the soft voice of his pupil, Jeza, "They have made no contact, there is no other conclusion."

"Insufferable Jedi. He will pay; they all will!"

"Yes, My Lord. Also, there is a ship, it crashed, badly damaged and no signs of life-"

"He is here."

"Kenobi, My lord? Why would he come here?"

"He is not alone. Whoever this other is, the being got him to come. But it is no matter, Kenobi was only to be tortured for information. He is too well set in the Jedi ways to be manipulated. If he should arrive, bring him and his companion to me unharmed. I will deal with Kenobi myself."

"Yes, My Lord,"

So Obi-Wan had somehow escaped. Ahsoka hadn't, but Obi-Wan had broken free of the carbonite one way or another. But why was he here? Why would Obi-Wan come to this planet? Who was his companion?

...

"Come on, Kenobi! You have to keep up!" Adeline called over her shoulder, running through the forests.

"Adeline, I don't know if you've noticed, but my knee isn't thoroughly healed! I can't exactly sprint."

"Oh fine." She said, faking annoyance, "We'll stop."

"Thank you." He sighed, coming to a stop, breathing hard.

"Sure." She answered, smiling slightly, "Are you all right, Obi-Wan?"

"I think so. I'm sorry for holding you up."

"No, Obi-Wan. I have no idea what these people we're looking for look like, nor their Force signature. And they also wouldn't trust me alone. It's no trouble stopping, really. We need to eat dinner soon anyway."

"If you say so." Obi-Wan sighed.

"Why don't you go gather some firewood? Then we'll see about something to eat."

Obi-Wan nodded, "Sure, I'll do that."

She watched him go, "Be careful!"

"You worry too much!" He called back, grinning.

She rolled her eyes, starting to prepare what she could without a fire. Obi-Wan returned ten minutes later with firewood. She cooked the biscuits- made from scratch- and warm stew before nightfall and put out the fire.

"It gets cold overnight." He warned, "Why did you put out the fire?"

"Our presence here did not go unnoticed, Obi-Wan. I don't want to give away our position."

"Of course," Obi-Wan said eying the food.

"Dig in." She said.

He smiled thankfully and did just that. When all the biscuits and stew had been eaten, they elapsed into a comfortable, friendly silence. Obi-Wan was right, Adeline found, the night temperatures plunged.

She shivered against the wind, "I'm cold." She whispered.

"Me too. We could do something with the Force-"

"I'd rather them not zone in on our position, if you didn't mind."

"Then-"

Adeline scooted closer to him, resting her cheek on his shoulder, "Just to stay warm." She explained.

"Just to stay warm." Obi-Wan agreed, slipping an arm around her.

She fell asleep with her head buried in his tunic. Realising she was asleep, Obi-Wan tightened his grip and looked out, ready to protect her if that became necessary.

A few hours later, Adeline woke to find Obi-Wan dozing slightly, barely awake. She skillfully ran her hands over his back to lull him to sleep, which he didn't protest. Only seconds later, he was fast asleep, breathing steady.

"Good night, Obi-Wan." She whispered, snuggling a little closer for warmth.

Obi-Wan was woken the next morning by cold, bitter water. His first thought was,  _"If Adeline dumped a bucket of water on my head, so help me, I will kill her!"_

"Hey!" Addie sounded offended, "I heard that!"

"Sorry," Obi-Wan said, looking at the sky quickly, "When did it start raining?"

"It's been on and off for an hour now. I managed to shield us from most of it" She smiled.

"And how long have you been up?"

"I'm not about to fall asleep on my feet, don't worry." Adeline laughed, "I dozed off once or twice after you fell asleep."

"If you say so." Obi-Wan said, not sounding convinced.

She managed to get him up, pulling a floaty, light thing over his head. That's when he realized that she had taken off her lovely cloak and had draped it over his head. Adeline was now simply wearing a knee-length cream-colored dress, which still glowed in the radiance that flowed off her. Without even realizing, he began to stare.

Adeline glared. "Are you looking at me?"

Obi-Wan flushed a bright red. "Um..." He said, trying to cover up his little mistake.

Adeline laughed. "Never mind, I probably don't want to know- OW!" The Nubian Angel sat down on the ground with a thump, clutching her chest. Obi-Wan dropped to his knees beside her, frantic with fear.

"Adeline! What happened?"

She looked up gravely, her hazel eyes reflecting his fear. "We need to get to the ruined Sith temple right now. Your friend Ahsoka is in grave danger."

She pulled her cloak off his head. "I need that, Obi-Wan," She said, pulling it around her again. "We have to go NOW!"

Obi-Wan didn't need any more urging. Ignoring the stabbing pains in his knee, he took off towards the ruined Temple, Adeline following.

...

Ahsoka Tano was most certainly in grave danger. At the moment, she was being tortured, and it was not fun. Her Master was hanging upside down from an energy field on the other side of the room, yelling for her release. It wasn't working, and the Force suppressant that Ventress had given her was not helping at all. She couldn't hold off the pain now; her only hope was to shriek in pain and hope it stopped. Darth Maleficent was laughing evilly, and Ahsoka's last sane thought was, _"MASTER KENOBI! HELP ME!"_


	6. Chapter 6

Obi-Wan heard her voice screaming in his ears as he ran into the clearing where a huge pile of rubble, a few corners of the building still left. It was obvious that Adeline had heard it; and much louder, too, because of the fact that she was trying really hard to plug her ears. Obi-Wan shuddered involuntarily, beginning to feel that old fear coming back again. Adeline was suddenly at his side, her arm around his back.

"Obi-Wan, it can't be helped. Ahsoka needs us, and she needs us NOW!" Her voice struck him as soothing, even as she was urging him to save a friend's life; and he gained confidence at her words.

"Let's go."

Adeline held her lightsaber out in front of her, still not ignited, as they crept into the ruined temple. Obi-Wan was glancing around, his bad memories of the place still very much alive. There wasn't much left, but there was a stairway leading underground that definitely hadn't been there his first visit.

"Down?" Adeline asked, looking up to him.

He simply nodded, "Yes, down."

She followed him down the winding staircase until it leveled out into a dark cave. She shuddered at the thought that he seemed more comfortable down here than up above.

"Are you okay?" He asked, sounding distracted.

"Um... yeah, I'm fine." She said, waving off his worries. Well, maybe fine wasn't the right word in this case. She was slightly claustrophobic, but she really didn't feel the need to mention that.

He didn't reply, but she could tell by the look he gave her that he wasn't buying a word of it. They crept deeper and deeper into the underground cavern, and Obi-Wan kept looking this way and that, searching for his enemy.

Suddenly, the Angel's sharp ears picked up an unbearably loud noise. It was a scream, echoing throughout the cavern, along with an evil laugh.

Adeline didn't even bother with being quiet anymore. "Come on!" She yelled at Obi-Wan, taking off towards the source of the sound. Her boots clattered loudly on the stone floor. Suddenly, a shower of rocks in front of them fell, blocking the path.

"We'll go the long way around!" Adeline shouted, taking off.

They were too late. Ahsoka was kneeing in front of a very freaky Sith Lord, burn scars on her face and her eyes closed. Obi-Wan yelled and tried to run forward, but Adeline held him back.

"There's more to this than we think. Wait." The Angel warned.

The Sith Lord seemed to say something, and Ahsoka rose, her eyes still closed, and turned towards Obi-Wan and Adeline. The Jedi Master felt the Angel squeeze his arm tighter, and he instinctively tightened. Obi-Wan suddenly realized that Anakin Skywalker was sitting on the stone floor nearby, wet and breathing hard, as if he had just been dragged through the rain and hit with a frying pan. The Sith Lord suddenly leaped, without any warning except for Adeline's nails digging deeper into Obi-Wan's arm, putting his lightsaber at Obi-Wan's throat before he could react, and the Jedi Master was sitting on the ground, feeling the heat of the red blade. Adeline's purple lightsaber came out with a snap-hiss.

"Don't come any closer, Angel, or your Jedi friend dies!" The Sith Lord hissed. Adeline didn't move.

"Adeline-" Obi-Wan warned.

"No, Obi-Wan. I can't let him kill you."

Obi-Wan locked his gaze on her, but found he couldn't speak. Anakin was recovered enough to stare at them blankly.

"Surrender, and no harm will come to him." The Sith sneered.

Adeline slowly turned off her lightsaber and laid it on the ground in front of her. She then raised her hands.

"All right, I surrender." She whispered.

The Sith smiled evilly, using the Force to claim her blade, "Good."

Adeline slowly backed away a bit, eyes flashing to Obi-Wan several times. Maleficent waved his hand and several servants ran over, taking Obi-Wan and Adeline and tying them up. Adeline exchanged a terrified look with Obi-Wan.

"What's happening?" She hissed.

"I-I don't know." He admitted, sounding shaken.

Ahsoka, eyes still closed, walked over, as if in a daze, and stood at the other side of the cavern. Anakin looked up, mentally exchanging a message with Obi-Wan. The Jedi Master simply looked at him, saying, " _Anakin, this is bigger than any of us realize. What is your Padawan doing?_ "

The young Jedi Knight managed to struggle to his knees, saying faintly, "A-Ahsoka?"

The teenage Togruta's head rose, and Anakin visibly flinched as he saw the burn marks and dirt on her face. Then, her eyes opened. They were yellow, and burned with hate.

"NOOOO!" Anakin yelled, regaining his energy in a second as she leaped at him, both of her green lightsabers hissing, and clashed them with her Master's blue one.

Adeline jerked beside Obi-Wan, who was staring at the battle, traces of tears in his blue eyes. Not knowing what else to do, Adeline rested her head on his shoulder, whispering reassurances that he didn't seem to be hearing.

Ahsoka was fighting hard, making Adeline remember something Obi-Wan had told her. At the time, she had been furious, but she saw truth in his words now.

"She's going to tire herself," Addie whispered.

Obi-Wan gave her the 'that-didn't-help-at-all' look.

"Sorry," She mumbled, looking around, "We need to get out of here."

Obi-Wan nodded tightly. Seeing him like this hurt Adeline, so she opened herself to the Force and let him feel how she felt. This night was not a night for deceiving.

"Obi-Wan, this place is going to collapse."

They watched as Anakin and Ahsoka leaped past, "I know, Addie."

"We need to get out."

"I know, Addie."

"Well, do something!"

"I have been, ropes are loose."

Adeline looked at him, "We risk death if we try."

"No more than every day in the past week." Obi-Wan smiled.

"Just in case, I want you to know... guard your thoughts better. Especially about girls being cute, and definitely when the girl is right there."

Obi-Wan blushed, "Oops."

"I would say. Come on!"

He rolled his eyes, "You're insufferable."

"I know!" Adeline said, shrugging off the ropes, "Let's go!"

She raced to the exit in the cavern, Obi-Wan close behind. Maleficent, Ventress and Grievous had fled already... the cowards. Obi-Wan turned, he couldn't leave Anakin here.

"Obi," Addie hissed, "We have to-"

"You go on, I'll be only a moment." He promised.

"M-May the Force be with you then."

"And you."

She kissed him quickly on the cheek, "For good luck... and  _only_  good luck."

"Whatever you say." Obi-Wan chuckled, watching her sprint off.

"Anakin! Come on!" He called to his friend.

"No, Obi-Wan. I have to do this!"

"Anakin, please!"

"Let me do this, Obi-Wan! Go on!"

Obi-Wan took one final look and ran after Adeline.

...

Anakin dodged blow after blow, trying to keep away from attacking Ahsoka. Throwing her off long enough to steal a look Obi-Wan's direction, he saw the Angel kiss him on the cheek, murmur something and run off.

"Anakin! Come on!" Anakin heard his master's voice call out.

"No, Obi-Wan. I have to do this!"

"Anakin, please!" So Obi-Wan thought he would lose Anakin himself next, he was wrong.

"Let me do this, Obi-Wan!" Anakin half meant it as and order and half meant it as a plead, "Go on!"

To his surprise and delight, Obi-Wan obeyed. Ahsoka's lightsaber got too close to his neck for comfort. He fought back, swinging at her and managing to hit her hard in the head with the hilt of his lightsaber.

She fell to the ground, shivering, eyes fading to blue, "M-Master?"

"Ahsoka!" Anakin dropped beside her.

"I'm... so... sorry... Master." She whispered before all going limp in his arms.

He picked her up and ran through the tunnels as they fell apart behind him. When he emerged, he found the Angel bent over Obi-Wan, cleaning a wound.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

"She turned back, Obi-Wan." He whispered.

The Angel came over, laying a hand on Ahsoka's forehead, "She's in a coma. We have to hurry."

"I'll take care of it." Obi-Wan snapped, "You're hurt yourself."

"It's nothing, just a scrape."

"I don't believe that, Adeline. Sit down. I'll call for help."


	7. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a silly, stupid, crack-ish epilogue.

Plo Koon leaned up against the hard transparisteel covering of Ahsoka's hyperbaric chamber, holding an old-fashioned photograph. All of the people Ahsoka had made friends with over the years had crowded into the one little hospital room in the medical wing of the Temple, and Plo looked around at them. He saw Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee, the elder Miralian trying to comfort the younger, Senator Riyo Chuchi of Pantora, Senator Amidala, who was trying to comfort Master Skywalker, who had a look on his face like someone had tried to strangle him, Master Kenobi, who was talking to a young woman in a hospital gown, who was glowing with a beautiful light. Even Master Yoda was there, trying in vain to make Skywalker talk again.

Suddenly, Master Vokara Che, the strict Temple Healer, walked in.

"All right, everyone who's not Skywalker, Senator Amidala, Master Kenobi, or Adeline, get out of my medical wing!"

They didn't need to be told twice. Most of them whispered something to Ahsoka before exiting, but Plo was the only one who tried to bargain with Master Vokara.

"Master Che, I mean no disrespect, but Padawan Tano is one of my oldest friends. It was I who brought her to the Temple when she was three years old."

Master Vokara turned to look at him. "She's going to die." The Healer said bluntly.

Plo staggered, falling onto the hyperbaric chamber.

"WHAT?" He yelled.

A moment later, he straightened up, looking disgusted and trying to wipe a blue smudge off his fingers.

"Blue lipstick?" He questioned, pointing to a blue lip print on the hyperbaric chamber. Adeline giggled from her bed, where she was having an animated discussion about lightsaber duels with Obi-Wan.

"It was Senator Chuchi," The Angel said. "She wears blue lipstick. After all, she is Pantoran."

Plo appeared to have won her over when Master Vokara explained Ahsoka's situation.

"You see, none have ever survived a return to the Light Side of the Force before, and it has happened so seldom anyway that one does return to the Light. It is very hard for one to survive who's Force signature has been broken and changed, then sewed back together, so to speak. You may stay, Master Koon."

Plo leaned up against the transparisteel covering again, and began to speak softly into a comlink that was attached to the side.

"Ta rual, Little 'Soka?" He asked her, letting the words flow through the Force. There was no response, but he felt as if she would have, and so he continued talking, leading up to where he was taking her.

"Remember the photograph I would have given you before the mission?" He asked her. "Well, I have it right here, and since you cannot see it, I will tell you about it. Well, there's a little Togruta girl, no more than three, and she's wearing a green dress, castanet stockings, and brown ballet flats, and she's holding on to a Kel Dor's finger, and watching him with curiosity. She's very small, and very cute. Do you know who she is? She's you, Little Ahsoka. She's you, on the day I first met you, when you were three years old. This picture is for you, but only if you wake up to take it."

Plo Koon watched her, and suddenly, Ahsoka's eyes flew open. She sat up in her hyperbaric chamber, saw the photograph through the transparisteel, and began to cry. Obi-Wan helped Adeline out of her bed and shooed the others out, following behind.

...

A week later, Ahsoka Tano was sitting up in her hospital bed, holding on to the photograph that Master Plo had given her. She had not been fully awake since her return to the living Force last week, and this was giving her time to talk to her friends, like Senator Chuchi, who she was teasing about the blue lipstick, Adeline, who was up and about now, Barriss, and Senator Amidala. The teenage Togruta appeared to be back to normal. She was wiser for her experience, and a little bit quieter, but what she had survived made it easy to realize why she was quiet. The burn marks were still there, and always would be, as Master Vokara had said, but Ahsoka still had one thing missing. Her Master had not come to see her. When Senator Amidala had asked her why he hadn't, she had replied,

"He's scared of me, Padmé. He knows what the meaning of 'Turning to the Dark Side of the Force' means now. And here he's driving me insane! I haven't had anyone call me 'Snips' in a week! And, I haven't had anyone to call 'Skyguy,' either." Ahsoka sighed. "Oh, by the way, Chuchi, Master Plo wants a sample of that lipstick of yours... to smear on his hands, of course!"

Senator Chuchi turned as pink as a Pantoran could. "Ohhh! Ahsoka!"

The young Togruta burst out laughing. "Sorry, Chuchi."

Suddenly, there was a knocking sound on Ahsoka's door, and Anakin Skywalker came through. "May I talk to my Padawan for a moment?" He asked. The girls in Ahsoka's room all nodded, getting up and leaving.

Anakin sat down by Ahsoka's bed. "Hey, Snips," He said. Ahsoka breathed a sigh of happiness at that, and Anakin looked confused.

"What'd I do?" He asked. She laughed nervously.

"Never mind, Skyguy." She said, making her Master groan.

"Hey, Ahsoka, I wanted to talk to you about the incident on Zigoola."

She stiffened. ""Um, Master? I think I have to go get a sandwich from Barriss's..." She trailed off as Barriss gave her the 'Lame' sign from the doorway, where she and everyone else were eavesdropping.

Anakin sighed. "Snips, I just want to talk."

Ahsoka said, "Hold on just a sec, Master..." She gave the eavesdroppers at the doorway a mean look, and they scattered. "All right, talk, if you must." She murmured.

"Ahsoka, look, I'm sorry."

Ahsoka stared at him, confused, "For what?"

"For ignoring you these past few days, and..." He trailed off.

"What?" She asked.

"For letting... what happened occur. It was all my fault, Ahsoka."

"How could it be your fault?"

"I was the one who got captured in the first place when I was stupid enough to walk up to a Sith Lord. If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have been captured either."

Ahsoka smiled slightly, "It's all right, Skyguy."

"No, it's not. I won't fail you again, I promise."

They hugged and clapping and cheering came from the doorway. They turned around to see Barriss, Chuchi, Padmé, Adeline and Master Kenobi standing there. Ahsoka threw one of her boots at them. Senator Chuchi caught it and threw it back, hitting Ahsoka and making Adeline laugh even harder.

"Get outta here!" Ahsoka called playfully, making most of them laugh.

Suddenly, there came a familiar voice from the doorway.

"May I come in?" It was Master Plo.

Ahsoka grinned evilly, giving Chuchi the 'You-hit-me-with-my-boot,-you-pay-with-your-dignit y' look.

"Hey, Master Plo," She said, snickering under her breath. "Could you show Chuchi your thumb?"

Plo Koon sighed. "If you really want me to, Little Ahsoka." He held up his thumb, and this time, Senator Chuchi really did turn red. His thumb was bright blue.

"It doesn't wash off very well," Senator Chuchi said meekly, making everyone laugh harder.

Rex had returned from Dathomir safely on a cargo cruiser, bringing with him his troops and the hero of the moment: Sadira. Everything was perfect. She laughed and threw the boot at Chuchi again. Ahsoka was happy. Life as a Jedi wasn't as hard as it once had been. As Ahsoka sat there, she realized that there was nowhere she would rather be; among her friends, laughing and talking.


End file.
